How to save your summer

Regardless of whether or not the weather chooses to recognise it, we are currently experiencing what scientists have referred to in the past as 'summer'. To some this means nothing more than a supposed increase in temperature, but to university students such as myself, it has a whole other meaning.

For students, the summer period is entirely what you make it. Almost three months of un-timetabled, un-scheduled blank space to fill with whatever you see fit. Obviously this can come in many, many forms; from work placements, to travel adventures, to simply kicking back and catching up on some much-needed sleep. I’ve been spending the past six weeks trying to mix and match and find the perfect combination of all of the above, but it has definitely proven to be a far trickier task than I first anticipated.

Being away from Southampton was a little jarring at first - a shorter housing contract may have saved me a lot of rent in the long-run, but without a place to stay in the city, I had to head home to Essex until September. Jumping between two very different lifestyles can be quite difficult, and so, to avoid that rather soul-crushing state everyone will recognise as 'boredom', I’ve set out to try and conquer as much as humanly possible.

Taylor Swift was kind enough to help me avoid boredom by performing nearby in Hyde Park.

Whilst many of my friends have stayed in the city and opted for getting themselves a work placement of some sorts - from marketing internships to social media training through the University’s Excel placement scheme, I instead looked towards placements nearer to home. Luckily enough, through The Edge’s connections, I managed to secure a week working with The National Student, a far-reaching entertainment and opinion website based in London. And so, as you read this, I will be joining the ranks of the capital’s army of commuters and I couldn’t be more excited!

However, as important as work is for future experience, the summer still has plenty more to offer. With the University accepting students from all over the globe, I’ve found that even just visiting friends over the summer months can be something of an adventure in itself, giving me the opportunity to explore places I had never been before.

Thanks to my student railcard (an essential tool that no young traveller should be without), I’ve been able to parade up and down the country on any number of trains for a surprisingly affordable price. June took me to Nottingham, whilst this past weekend has been spent on the (not at all) sunny shores of Liverpool.

Catching up with friends on an adventure up to Liverpool has certainly been a summer  

Whether it be one friend or a whole group, travelling up to visit them has proven to be a great way to spend odd weekends and keep in touch whilst separated by the holidays.

Obviously, it’s not all running around though. As fun and thrilling as it was, second year proved to be one of the craziest years to date, so taking some time off to just sit and relax seems entirely reasonable. Catching up with local friends and binge-watching Netflix has helped to slow my brain down to a far calmer pace, and I’m now far more able to look forward to the year ahead and start planning life back in Southampton.

Getting a kick-start on the reading for the new academic year has definitely kept me in check - Hartley Library’s huge collection of e-books has certainly proved useful - whilst continuing my work with The Edge over the summer has allowed my creative juices to keep flowing smoothly.

It seems that even when I’m away from Southampton and the University physically, there’s still plenty to be getting on with!

Ben